56. Chef Essi Tadrus of Southern Luv BBQ joins Bobby & Myles for a conversation on being an Entrepreneur in the Restaurant Industry!
Welcome to the Cutting Onions Podcast, Episode 56! Today we are featuring our conversation with Chef Essi Tadrus. Essi got his start in restaurants at the age of 14 years old and became an entrepreneur very, very fast. After working in kitchens in his teens and developing his craft, he took the plunge and bought a cell phone/pager shop and it was a huge success! Realizing his love for restaurants, Essi got back in the game and started developing his own concepts to rave reviews of everyone who dined in his restaurants. These restaurants include Rib Shack and Fly Chix. After selling Rib Shack in 2018 and still feeling the love for barbecue, he began to think of the way he used to describe the food he was making in the kitchen as being made with southern love, and that is how Southern Luv BBQ was born! But it all started with Essi created his BBQ sauce and sold it out of the trunk of his car to area restaurants and then figured out how to get distribution. And the rest was history, but the story is just beginning! This is a super inspiring conversation that existing entrepreneurs or anyone thinking about being an entrepreneur should hear. Everything Essi has created has been through a lot of blood, sweat and tears, which is what it takes to be a serial entrepreneur, and that is what Essi is. He talks about those early days through today and how it still takes intestinal fortitude, a street-fighting mentality, and hustle to pull it all together, but at the root of it all is the culture he has created between vendors, suppliers, and the guest. We hope you enjoy this episode with Chef Essi Tadrus as much as we did! Check it out wherever you consume your podcast content! #chef #essitadrus #southernluv #bbq #barbecue #fastcasual #finecasual #restaurants #restaurant #bbqrestaurant #cooking #southerncooking #lowandslow #cuttingonions #mylesgift #bobbyshaw